Summary/Reaction to Articles 1,2, and 3

Article 1:Violent Video Games: The Effects on Youth, and Public Policy Implications
In this article, the author talks about the history and effects of violent video games. The author explains how the video game violence started and how the first few games, such as Mortal Kombat, were best sellers. It also talks about the effects of teens that use these games. The author talks about how they use certain methods to research the effects on these teens. At the end of the article, the author explains how the video games can effect the kids personalities. I believe that this statement is somewhat true. I think most teens that play these violent games can control their aggression unless they have an actual mental disability. This article made me understand that in some cases, these games do have an effect of the kids who play them. 

Article 2:Weinstein, Tarantino and the standoff over movie violence
 In this article, it talks about how a movie producer, Harvey Weinstein, decides to step down from making violent movies. He believes that these movies are effecting the people who watch them. He does not believe in violence whatsoever. Weinstein thinks that making these violent movies is causing him to become a hypocrite, since he does not want his kids growing up watching these types of movies. But as it says in the article, " If you are curious whether media violence contributes to violent crime, the simple answer to that is we really don’t know.”. This is said by Texas A&M psychologist Christopher Ferguson. To my understanding, if we do not know whether the media violence contributes to violent crime, then why step down from creating movies that are only to be watched by adults? I play violent video games and watch violent movies. But, I have also done this when I was not of age. I understood that it is just a movie and just a game. I never idolized the violence and wanted to go out and do it myself. This article does not change my beliefs on this issue.
Article 3: Columbine, Whose Fault Is It?
In this article, Marilyn Monroe says "throw a rock and you'll hit someone who's is guilty". Basically this means there is lots of people at blame for violence among children and teens. The media stretches the truth just so everyone can point fingers. Just because the Columbine murders' wore black and listened to violent music, the media found something it could use as an excuse for the murders.  In further investigation, they found that the Columbine killers listened to a range of artist that make violent music. As I read this article, I was surprised to find out this information. I was never told that this was true. This made me realize that most of the media is wrong. I now have a better understanding of where Marilyn Monroe is coming from in this article.

Articles 1, 2, & 3.

Article 1:
This article is about the effects violent video games and just violence on television can have on children. The article also states how these video games can cause earlier signs of agression in todays youth. The first fewe paragraphs of the chapter are about the history of video game violence, and where it evolved. The second set of paragraphs cover the different research methods used to discover if and how the video game violence really does cause quick anger in the people playing the game. The last few paragrgaphs touch base about the great risks media violence has and that it isn't just video games causing this sort of violence. This article didn't change my view on video games, I myself don't play them but I do see the violence in the people who do play the video games. They act as if they are really a part of the game. It is scary to see them act that way and pretty much block out the world. But I also see the side from the people who actually play them, they become addicted to it and most of the time don't turn out to be aggressive towards anyone, but it all depends on the age of the person they are studying.

Article 2:

This article was about how Havey Weinstein, a film producer went on CNN to announce that he would no longer be producing violent movies. He stated that "he simply cannot go pick out a a movie and say this is what I want for my kids." There is a lot of talk about how school/mass shootings have also grown over time, in 2013 there were 30 incidents and an overall of 137 deaths, all just in 2013! I thought this article was well written and it kept my attention the whole time. I like where he states that movie violence has always been with us and that there needs to be certain limits set for such violence. SImply because it is very easy to be overrun with a certain type of movie, same with anything else. I myself like to watch violent movies but sometimes the film makers do go a bit overboard with their movies and the amount of violence in them.


Article 3:

"Times have not become more violent, they have just become more televised" states Marilyn Manson. In this article he is writing to share his beliefs on the topic. Media has a way of twisting the story and making it hard to blieve anything. Nowadays they look for anyone to blame. In this article he talks a lot about the school shooting and how the media blamed him for the boy who were said to be dressed in black and had their faces painted. He didn't go on television to prove that those boys werent dressed like he was, instead he let them believe what ever they wanted. This world has become something else, and even though violence has always been there, I do believe that because others are doing it, it has the whole world believing they themselves can do it too.

Article 3: Columbine

In Marilyn Manson's article, he explains how us as people and media are to blame for the violent acts that continue to happen. For instance, he states, "When it comes down to who's to blame for the high school murders in Littleton, Colorado, throw a rock and you'll hit someone who's guilty." Manson also talks about how the media "praises" and post the pictures of the criminals that cause these violent acts all over the media for everyone to see. Manson doesn't blame a single person. He feels that it is our fault as society that violence continues to happen. In example, he states, "So don't expect the end of the world to come one day out of the blue – it's been happening every day for a long time." In many ways I agree with Marilyn Manson. I too feel that media displays these criminals in a way that they will be memorialized and never forgotten. For some people, that maybe why the commit the crimes that they do. Just so they can be heard and noticed. To me, media will make some one famous, in the wrong way, and hurt others in the process. For instance, in Marilyn Manson's article, he states, "I was dumbfounded as I watched the media snake right in, not missing a teardrop, interviewing the parents of dead children, televising the funerals. Then came the witch hunt." I personally agree with what Manson is stating and have learned to ignore the media when they display criminals in a "memorable" way. 

Article 2: Movie Violence

In this article, written by Andrew O'Hehir, he starts off by stating how one in particular movie creator, Harvey Weinstein, is backing of from making violent movies because he feels violent movies are having a negative affect on society. In this article,  O'Hehir seems to be on both sides of the argument with what Weinstein is saying. For instance, O'Hehir states, "I guarantee you that Weinstein has thought about this long and hard, and understood that he would take incoming fire from all sides of the culture wars. I also believe that he’s had numerous conversations with other Hollywood studio heads and producers, who may share his concerns but don’t want to talk about it." Then O'Hehir discusses the argument on whether gun laws and the amount of people that own guns are causing an increase in violence. It is obvious to see from his article that he feels gun laws and the number of guns owned by people are not the problem with violence. For instance, he states, "Gun manufacturing and gun sales have exploded in the United States over the last few years (since the election of a known Kenyan Muslim as president, perhaps), yet by most measurements gun violence has reached its lowest level since at least 1981." Overall, I think O'hehir raises a good discussion topic on whether or not violence in media causes violence within people. Yes, violent movies are considered the more popular movies, and I believe it is because people are emotionally curious about it. Meaning, we wonder what it feels like to have a violent situation happen to us. And the best way to gain this type of emotion is by watching a movie that displays that emotion. Does it mean that we want to go and act out the violent acts we see in the media. No, not at all, it's just that we as people are curious on what some situations would feel like. Movies and other violent media videos allow us to feel the emotions of a tragic event without actually having to go through that event. 

Article 1: Violent Video Games

In the article, Violent Video Games:The Affects on Youth, and Public Policy Implications, it discuss how violent video games have played a toll on society's behavior. In the beginning of this article it discusses the history of violent video games and how it originated. For instance, it states, "The first violent commercial video game to receive much attention was Death Race, a driving simulator. Released in 1976, the game’s working title had been Pedestrian." Then the article goes on to discuss the research and methods scientists used in order to develop their conclusions. In example, it talks about how scientist used experimental, correlational, and longitudinal studies. Finally, the article sums up by elaborating on the main point of the article, which is how video games can affect the youth. After reading this article, I am more aware and have a better understanding on why many people feel that violent video games can affect a person's personality. The authors do a good job on giving examples of what types of studies were used and how they came to an appropriate conclusion. Yes, now I can see how violent video games can affect a person's personality, but do I feel that this is a major issue? No, because I personally play violent video games and don't let my aggression go beyond the game. I personally agree with the age restrictions on video games, which is discussed in the article, because the rating goes by the age and estimated maturity level of an individual. 

 

Violent Video Games: The Effects on Youth, and Public Policy Implications Summary

This chapter of the Handbook of Children, Culture, and Violence, written by Douglas A. Gentile and Craig A. Anderson, is about what effects violent video games can have on youths, and how they can cause the beginnings of aggressive behavior in youths. The first section of the chapter is about the history of video game violence, and how quickly it evolved. The next section covers several research methods for discovering if video game violence really does cause players to become aggressive. The last section is about the general risks that media violence can cause, though video games are still the main example. I've known about the research surrounding video game violence for some time, and this article actually showed me some examples of how the research is carried out. Also, despite all the good research and the proof that violent media can cause people to become violent, I still believe it's a perfectly fine thing to consume if it doesn't cause you to become aggressive. I've been playing violent video games for some time and it hasn't happened to me.

Weinstein, Tarantino and the standoff over movie violence Summary

This article, written by Andrew O'Hehir, is about how Harvey Weinstein, the film producer, decided to back away from producing violent movies, due to his concern of too much violence in the media. Weinstein had been known for making violent movies for quite some time and this change received some criticism. O'Hehir says that media violence in moderation is probably okay, but it's difficult to figure out when there is too much. He says individuals can sometimes believe that they don't have any problems with a certain exposure to media violence, but are concerned about others' exposure. I myself believe in this, as I do about the moderation. When I'm consuming media, it's usually in the form of a video game, and is usually violent. However, when I play a game like Grand Theft Auto V, which is, of course, violent, but features numerous nonviolent gameplay options, I almost always choose the other options. My understanding of media violence didn't change after reading this article, but I now am more aware of the controversy surrounding media violence.